2

I'm working on a costume for comic con - and I know that's not your typical home improvement project, but out of all the SE sites, this seemed the most appropriate place to ask.

The costume consists of multiple pieces of plexiglass molded into an armor. I need to attach the armor to my body, and I bought 1.5" nylon webbing, some slide lock buckles, and some velcro. The plan is to attach the webbing to one piece of armor, with one end looped through one of the loops of the buckle, and sewn back on itself. Then I can run the strap from the other piece of armor through the other loop in the buckle and velcro it against itself. It will work something like this picture.

I need to adhere the nylon webbing to the acrylic. I know there are tons of adhesives and solvents for adhering acrylic to acrylic, but I'm not sure about nylon to acrylic and searching the web hasn't found me anything useful. The acrylic will be painted before I do my gluing; I'm using Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X ultracover paint+primer.

Thomas
  • 148
  • 1
  • 6

1 Answers1

1

Gluing on structural straps is an iffy project for most materials. Have you considered pop rivets? The tool can cost less than $10 and the rivets a few dollars more.

rivet tool rivets

You just drill a small hole throught he plastic, punch a small hole through the strapping, insert the rivet through the holes, add a washer on the webbing side and operate the tool. You may need two or three per attachment point, depending on how much strain they will be under.

The rivet tool may come in handy on other projects, like repairing your Tricorder.

bib
  • 33,485
  • 10
  • 64
  • 100
  • Yes, I have considered rivets, but they would have a significant impact on the appearance of the costume. I'd also need a rubber washer on the acrylic side. But I agree, they'd definitely be the most structurally sound. – Thomas May 22 '14 at 16:30
  • 1
    I did end up using rivets with rubber washers. The rivets also worked for laminating a few shaped pieces together. – Thomas Jun 17 '14 at 19:02